Battle of the Channel
Prelude - after battle of the Bay, Marine du roi set out to the western edge of the Silliers Channel to pounce on the Confederation fleet returning from escort duty from Majatra - Marine due roi left the shipping lines between the mainland and their beachhead on the Isle with minimal escort in order to bring together the largest fleet in order to beat the more experienced & better trained navy of the Isle - various patrols were sent out with the bulk of the fleet, including its galleys & ships of the line waiting in reserve in long north-to-south running figure-eight sailing pattern off the northwestern coast of La Tondelle - 21 December 1567, royal corvettes Gaston & Ardent picked up sails in the Sea of Lost Souls approaching the opening of the Channel; the Gaston returned to the fleet with the news while the Ardent maintained distance and screened the Confederation's fleet - only a day before, Admiral Charles François Gabaret of the Confederation navy heard news from the fluyt Timothée Trullet of the sightings of several friendly fishing boat captains of the Marine du roi - Gabaret gambled and broke his escorting fleet away from the convoy and headed to where he believed the enemy fleet to be; his hunch proved right as his ships sighted the shadowing Ardent - Gabaret was cautious and maintained a tight formation until dusk on 22 October when he ordered the two schooners François and Louise along with the fast frigate Grace de la mer to sneak upon the Ardent in the night overtake her - the three vessels chased down the Ardent in the dark; and after a quick firefight successfully boarded her for a prize; with skeleton crews, the Louise and the newly-captured Ardent retreated to the safe harbors of the Isle - meanwhile, the advanced ships signaled Admiral Gabaret that they had sighted sails in the pre-dawn morning of 23 October; both sides formed into lines and cautiously drew near each other in the early morning light Battle - Gabaret's fleet was spotted, signaled throughout the King's fleet - wind came out of the southwest; Admiral Robert Duriès tried to gain the weather gage but was cut off by Gabaret - to counter this move, Duriès positioned his fleet to the defensive leeward side in order to strike Gabaret's fleet from further away with chain-shot - both sides slid past each other; two of Duriès's ships were separated and cut off, eventually caputured - at second pass, the King's navy failed to maintain their line; the ships began blocking each other's fire and line of sight causing their fire to dwindle - three of the more aggressive captains broke directly from the line and ended up in between the two fleets but managed to fight their way through and caused unexpected damage to Gabaret's line - by the third pass, the King's line completely collapsed; the van of the fleet broke away and attempted to run - - both sides formed lines and moved toward each other with Gabaret's line breaking north first to open with its long-range demi-culverins; most captains opened fire at 500 meters, firing on the hulls and decks of the ships with few hits First Contact - Admiral Robert Duriès' line came in at a 25° angle to less than 200 yards from the Confederation line before turning south and passing along the broadsides of the Gabaret's line - broadsides were exchanged with Admiral Duriès' captains using chain and bar shot in an attempt to destroy the rigging of the Confederation's shipping and counterbalance the seamanship of their captains but to little avail The Initiative of Captain Luc-Pierre Thouars - as Duriès' slide past the Confederation, Captain Luc-Pierre Thouars of the lead galley Formidable used his initiative to turn east in an effort to slowly encircle the Marine du roi, he was soon followed by the rest of the line behind him - - taking the initiative Aftermath & Legacy Category:Kanjor Category:History Category:Wars, civil wars and conflicts